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DEPTH PERCEPTION 8/24: Champion Power Rankings and A Depth Chart of the Their Contenders Aug 24, 2008 - 12:12:27 PM
It's been an eventful week in WWE and we have two new Champions to be ranked for the first time this week! As I have to include last Sunday's SummerSlam performances, this week's column will be a little longer than last week's. As this column is all about Champions and Challengers, I'd like to start by giving my thoughts on the two "Championship Scramble" matches that have been announced for Unforgiven.
The Championship Scramble: About this Championship Scramble concept, it's obviously not an "Adamle Original" as this concept has been seen many times and most famously in WWE for the Hardcore Championship. However, I quite like the idea because I believe the time limit stipulation creates a lot of drama and should make for two really exciting matches. I would really like to see WWE resist the urge to switch the title more than once in at least one of these matches. If there's going to be title changes, I would like to see a superstar win the Championship and hold onto it for the time limit or even do the unexpected and not switch the title at all.
Now, onto the Championship Rankings!
World Heavyweight Champion - C.M. Punk
Still the World Heavyweight Champion coming out of a successful title defence at SummerSlam is C.M. Punk. Punk wrestled a competitive match with JBL on Sunday and got a strong, much needed win over Layfield. During the match, Punk was busted open the hard way on the back of his head after a clash of heads, which added an unplanned display of toughness for Punk.
The next night on Raw C.M. Punk was in his hometown of Chicago and wrestled Chris Jericho in the main event. Punk and Jericho had a great back and forth match but the World Heavyweight Champion was pinned by Jericho after a distraction from Lance Cade. The loss is a shame for Punk who could have used a win on Raw to follow up his win at SummerSlam. Even though he lost, Punk came across as a gutsy competitor for wrestling on Raw despite his legit head injury from the previous night, he also came across as Jericho's equal in the ring during the match. It was an unfortunate situation, neither man could afford to lose, but someone had to. Punk also cut a good backstage promo earlier in the night and came across very confident and strong. Coming out of SummerSlam with a clean win over JBL was a good start for C.M. Punk's ranking this week but this loss is going to knock him down unfortunately. I am pleased though that Punk was finally featured in the main event of hour two, closing the show. Chris Jericho is on absolutely on fire and the win is great for him. It's strange that he has a pinfall victory over the World Heavyweight Champion but isn't even in the 5-man Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven. Perhaps there are plans for Jericho to receive a Championship match after that PPV and after the conclusion of his feud with HBK.
Challengers:
Apparently wins and losses don't mean anything to General Manager Mike Adamle as on Raw he booked two men who lost the previous night at SummerSlam in the Championship match at Unforgiven.
Batista: Out of the four challengers to Punk's title, Batista has the strongest claim to deserving the opportunity. He had a big win over Cena at SummerSlam, which is reason enough to receive a title match and then he beat Paul Burchill on Raw. Later in the evening he took a chokeslam from Kane after a failed attack on the Big Red Monster, although he has an excuse of a ‘leg injury'.
John Cena: John Cena lost a big match at SummerSlam to Batista but got a win over the World Tag Team Champions on Raw in a handicap match as a means of damage control for his PPV loss. I don't think Cena deserves a shot at C.M. Punk but he has it anyway and despite his loss at SummerSlam, he was booked as an equal to Batista in the match, taking two Batista Bombs to be pinned.
JBL: JBL lost to C.M. Punk at SummerSlam for the second time in a World Heavyweight Championship match. JBL then squashed Jamie Noble on Raw to get some heat back. JBL, even with the win over Noble didn't have a very strong week, losing to the Champion on PPV is a big deal and as much as I do like him, it doesn't make sense for JBL to be receiving another title shot.
Kane: Another man who lost his last televised match is Kane, who lost to Chris Jericho last week. Kane looked a lot stronger this week as he cut a promo on Rey Mysterio and then deflected an attack from Batista, laying him out with a chokeslam. The writing of Kane's promo was cheesy but his delivery was good.
WWE Champion - Triple H
WWE Champion Triple H had a great night at SummerSlam, beating The Great Khali and retaining his title. The Game survived Khali's signature offensive moves and eventually managed to execute the pedigree on the Punjabi Giant. A win over The Great Khali is still a reasonably impressive thing to have on your resume, so a good night for the WWE Champion.
Triple H didn't have a match on Smackdown! but he was on commentary for the Jeff Hardy Vs. Great Khali match. Triple H talked himself up well on commentary, although at times he sounded a bit insecure about Jeff Hardy but that could just be me reading too much into it and it's not such a big deal. Triple H then cut an in-ring promo on about his match at Unforgiven and again put himself over well. Kenny Dykstra then came out to confront The Game, only to take a pedigree. Good week for Triple H.
Challengers:
Unlike on Raw, each of the four challengers to Triple H's WWE Championship earned their right to a Championship opportunity at Unforgiven by winning qualifying matches.
Jeff Hardy: Jeff Hardy lost to MVP at SummerSlam but was protected due to Shelton Benjamin's interference. Then on Smackdown! this week, Jeff defeated The Great Khali to advance to the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. Jeff received a little help from Triple H to win after The Game hit Khali with a steel chair. Triple H was a little hard on Hardy on the commentary though, repeatedly stating, "He's no Triple H". Interesting..
MVP: MVP pinned Jeff Hardy at SummerSlam with some help from Shelton Benjamin's distraction but MVP had been booked strong in the match, dominating for a long period of time. MVP then defeated Festus by DQ to qualify for the Championship Scramble on Smackdown! Great week for him.
Shelton Benjamin: On Smackdown! Shelton defeated Finlay in a very good, competitive match after a distraction from Mike Knox to qualify for the Championship Scramble.
Brian Kendrick: I am pleasantly surprised to see The Brian Kendrick involved in the Championship Scramble, he continued his winning streak by winning a 10-Man Battle Royale to qualify. He was saved from elimination at the hands of The Big Show by Ezekial and his win came across as lucky but still, being in the main event of Unforgiven could raise Kendrick's profile significantly.
ECW Champion - Mark Henry
Mark Henry was not booked strong at all at SummerSlam and it's a shame because he had such a strong week heading into the PPV and both he and Matt deserved more than a 30 second match on the Pay-Per-View. Matt Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on Henry in the opening 30 seconds of the match and it looked like Henry was done for until he was saved by Tony Atlas' interference, causing the DQ. Atlas and Matt began to brawl, prompting Jeff Hardy to come out to assist his brother. Jeff hit Atlas with a Senton Bomb on the outside and then both brothers delivered a double suplex on the outside to Henry. Not the best night for the World's Strongest Champion.
On ECW this week, Mark Henry and Matt Hardy got to wrestle in the main event and had a good match. Henry was booked well throughout the match but once again had to be saved by Tony Atlas after a Twist of Fate. Henry then countered a moonsault and hit the World's Strongest Slam to retain. Despite his win on ECW, Mark Henry will move down from his number one ranking last week due to his booking at SummerSlam and having to be saved again by Tony Atlas on ECW.
Challengers:
Matt Hardy: Matt Hardy looked good on Sunday at SummerSlam, he hit the Twist of Fate early and looked like he had the match won. Tony Atlas interfered, costing Hardy the title but it was Matt standing tall in the end with brother Jeff after deflecting Henry and Atlas' attacks. Matt received a rematch on ECW and lost to Mark Henry after once again having the match won with a Twist of Fate only to have Tony Atlas break up the pin. Hardy comes out of this week still looking like a threat to the ECW Championship due to Atlas' interference.
New Intercontinental Champion - Santino Marella
I said last week that I didn't think Santino had been booked like a credible challenger for Kofi Kingston's title but that didn't stop him capturing the gold at SummerSlam, well Beth Phoenix capturing it for him at least. Santino wasn't booked strong in the "Winner Takes All" tag match, he got a fair amount of offence in on Kofi but only after bumping for Mickie James some more! He even took a tornado DDT from her at the end of the match. Santino was very entertaining at SummerSlam but not particularly strong.
On Raw, Santino defended his newly won Championship against D-Lo Brown, in Brown's hometown of Chicago. Santino lost the match by DQ thanks to a Beth Phoenix' slap to the face of Brown. Santino is clinging to his belt with the help of The Glamazon and at the moment, he's looking weak but that's the point.
Challengers:
Kofi Kingston: Kofi lost his Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam but he wasn't pinned. He was solid on commentary the following night on Raw and his slamming of Santino's head into the announce table is a sign that a rematch is on the cards soon. On a side note, I'm sick of Michael Cole's "Controlled Frenzy" description of Kofi's offence, it's just so cheesy! It's actually making me miss "Jamaican Me Crazy!"
D-Lo Brown: D-Lo appears to be in the chase for the Intercontinental Championship as well, although why he received a title shot before the former Champion Kofi Kingston is beyond me. Perhaps we'll be seeing a triple threat match at Unforgiven.
United States Champion Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin made a brief appearance at SummerSlam, distracting Jeff Hardy in his match with MVP and taking a cross-body for his troubles. Taking the cross-body doesn't really weaken Shelton as his involvement caused Jeff to lose, which seemed to be his intention, so he achieved his goal. On Smackdown!, Shelton defeated Finlay in a competitive match to qualify for the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. Finlay was protected due to Mike Knox' distraction but it was still a big win for Shelton. Shelton also got to cut a short in-ring promo. A good week for him.
Challengers:
At the moment Shelton is featured in the WWE Championship picture with his main challengers, MVP and Jeff Hardy. See WWE Championship Challengers for MVP and Jeff Hardy's respective weeks.
World Tag Team Champions - Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase
The World Tag Team Champions, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase lost this week on Raw, in a 2on1 handicap match to John Cena. Rhodes and DiBiase were looking very good in this match, controlling Cena and making good, smart tags to keep the momentum on their side. But losing a handicap match when you're the ones with the advantage is just not fitting for Champions. I know WWE do this pretty much all the time they do a 2on1 handicap match involving a top star but it's ridiculous that the Tag Team Champions can't beat one man. With that said, DiBiase and Rhodes were looking strong in this match, it's just a shame for them to be losing at this stage of their push. Unfortunately they will move down the Depth Perception Rankings this week.
Challengers:
Cryme Tyme: On Raw, Cryme Tyme stole Rhodes and DiBiase's Championship belts this week, seemingly inserting themselves into the title picture, which is fine with me. As I stated last week, Cryme Tyme's profile has been raised immeasurably over the past months and I think it's a great time for them to challenge for the titles.
WWE Tag Team Champions - Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder
This week, Hawkins and Ryder were both eliminated from the10-man Battle Royale Championship Scramble qualifying match. They assisted in eliminating Vladimir Kozlov, then they eliminated Scotty Goldman before both being thrown over the top with Super Crazy by the Big Show. Later in the show they accompanied Vickie Guerrero in the ring for her apology to The Undertaker. Hawkins and Ryder, along with Bam and Chavo attempted to attack The Undertaker and at one point gained the upper hand but they were eventually both chokeslammed. Again, not a great week for these guys, they won't improve on their position last week as bottom of the rankings. They desperately need a high profile win.
Challengers:
Jesse and Festus: Festus lost for the second week in a row on Smackdown! when he was counted out in his match with MVP. Jesse was hit by MVP's "Drive-by Kick" during the match. I still can't see any other teams to challenge Hawkins and Ryder. Not a great week for the tag division on Smackdown!
New Women's Champion - Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix looked great at SummerSlam, she was booked well in the tag match and won the Women's Championship for herself and also the Intercontinental Championship for Santino. Their post-match celebration was fun and put over The Glamazon's impressive strength.
Beth was the only champion not to lose on Raw this week. She was at ringside in support of Santino in his title defence and caused his disqualification by slapping D-Lo Brown. Standing up to the male wrestlers is good in establishing Beth as a confident competitor who fears no-one, male or female. Her performance at SummerSlam was good and she was fine on Raw, so a pretty good week for her and she'll be receiving a high ranking on Depth Perception this week.
Challengers:
Mickie James: Mickie lost the Women's Championship at SummerSlam but was booked strong enough in the match to be worthy of a rematch. Mickie was protected slightly by being distracted with Santino. On Raw, Mickie and her tag team partner for the night, Kelly Kelly, won against Katie Lea and Jillian Hall.
Kelly Kelly: Kelly Kelly has improved a lot in the ring and this week she won a tag team match with Mickie James. A future Championship match isn't out of the question if she can pick up a few more wins.
Diva's Champion - Michelle McCool
Following two weeks of tag team losses, Michelle McCool was not actually in action this week on Smackdown! She made a brief appearance when she ran to the ring to save Maria from a beat down at the hands of Natalya and Maryse. A better week than last for Michelle due to the fact that she didn't lose a match but she needs a win soon.
Challengers:
Natalya Neidhart: Natalya wrestled Maria on Smackdown! and the match ended in DQ when Maryse attacked Maria. Natalya watched as Maryse continued her beat down on Maria until they were chased off by Michelle McCool.
Maryse: Maryse interrupted Natalya Vs. Maria and attacked Maria, causing the DQ. Maryse continued to beat down Maria until Michelle McCool made the save. Both Natalya and Maryse came across as dangerous heels for the second week running.
Championship Rankings Week Two
Rank 1. WWE Champion Triple H (Up 1 position)
Rank 2. United States Champion Shelton Benjamin (Up 3 positions)
Rank 3. Women's Champion Beth Phoenix (N/A)
Rank 4. World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk (Down 1 position)
Rank 5. ECW Champion Mark Henry (Down 4 positions)
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